Thanksgiving 2022

Happy Thanksgiving and Greetings from Pignon Haiti! I can’t believe it’s already November 2022! Time flies, but the Love of our Heavenly Father never flies away, and this time of year especially reminds us to give thanks to our heavenly Father for the redemptive work He has done in our hearts and for his continued faithfulness and goodness in our lives. We are grateful each day for your faithful financial and prayer support that continues to impact the lives of children and families in the Fontaine area. God bless you!

School Updates/Kindergarten Building

I would like to thank everyone for your prayers and support to make the dream for a new Kindergarten building a reality. It is a thumbs up, yes Lord, moment for me this morning Nov. 21, 2022, when for the first time I see God’s beautiful children sitting inside a brand-new beautiful kindergarten building! While some work still remains to be done, I am filled with joy to let you know the building is 97% complete!

More importantly, God is not only building this building for His children; but He is also building new hearts. I am overjoyed to introduce to you a new believer through the construction of the kindergarten building. Boss Ducange, is a 62-year-old secret witch doctor and mason. (I said secret witch doctor because he does not practice voo-doo openly). Because he is skilled at building with stone and concrete blocks, they call him “boss” but his real name is Ducange Seide. Boss Ducange lives right next to our church building, and each Sunday he would listen to the music and sermons during our church services. On several occasions I would stop by the fence and casually talk to him, but he was not receptive to the Word of God. In the summer of 2021, he was surprised when I ask him to build the kindergarten for us. He didn’t think I would ask a non-believer to build a building for a Christian School! As he worked on the Kindergarten building, God gave me the opportunity on several occasions to talk with him about the love of God for us as sinners. On Sunday Nov. 6, it was a halleluiah moment to see him at church and he had the courage to come up front and give his life to the Lord! Please Pray for this new believer in Christ!

You may recall from our July-August Newsletter the new academic year was announced by the government to start in September. However, due the unprecedented downward spiral of political, economic and social chaos in Haiti, schools were not able to open as scheduled. Since Haiti’s school system is dominated by the non-public sector, whether for-profit, faith-based or run by non-governmental organizations, the different communities put their heads together and decided to gradually start schools in their communities. The schools in the cities remain closed, but those in the rural communities are gradually opening. After several meetings with the parents, teachers and the students,our school, Philadelphia Christian School of Fontaine, decided to open school this morning, Nov. 21, 2022. We are thankful the children can be back in the classroom again, however the situation remains unstable and uncertain.. Please continue to pray for us

Church Updates

The political, economic and social chaos in Haiti make the lives of the people miserable, but we don’t lose hope! After PCMP’s led effort to help spur engagement with the youth of our community we are seeing positive changes in their lives and the lives of many young non-believers. Last month alone, by God’s grace and mercy we have 5 young women and men come to the Lord. Praise the Lord! Our church youth group is meeting every Sunday afternoon to pray, play, and worship. Please continue to pray for the durability of those initiatives.

Our church building project is moving well despite the high cost of construction materials. We just finished building the pulpit and installing rebars in the windows. While lots of work remains to be done, we are confident the Lord will continue to provide for this project and are thankful for the added space to accommodate our growing congregation.

Creekside Church Haiti Missions Team in Pignon!

Even though Haiti is remains unstable and unpredictable, our brothers and sisters from Creekside Church of Urbandale, Iowa once again remain faithful to their calling. The team of 11 people came to Haiti to serve in a variety of service opportunities with PCMP from Nov. 3-Nov 10. A VBS program,led by Jacqui Gardiner and Ronda Gentosi, was held for 3 mornings in our church building where 400-500 children from the community heard the Word of God, sang songs, and made crafts.We trust that the seeds that were planted will have an eternal impact on the lives of these precious children.

Under the supervision of JR Kepple and the artistic skills of Ann Carter, Debbie Kepple and Courtney Westphal the new school building was completely painted, and beautiful murals were added to the outside of the building. Local young men were hired to help so that painting skills could be taught, and this also provided ministry opportunities to encourage the young men in the faith and walk with the Lord. Norb Metzler and Mark Bristow constructed Kindergarten tables for the new Kindergarten building. They also worked with Haitian young men to train them in woodshop skills and using electric tools. Ministry opportunities abounded as Biblical truths were taught during conversations, prayer, and reading scriptures together. Bob Calmer was the team's photographer and videographer.

Teacher Training and Garden Project with Creekside Church Missions Team
Schools in Haiti are struggling to attain the resources they need. Most of the subjects taught in class are learned by memorization due to inability of the government to supply the schools with proper resource and funding. This led me to request the help of our friends from Creekside to introduce our teachers to new methods of teaching. It was an eye-opening moment when the trainers, Jacqui Gardiner, Debbie Kepple and Ronda Gentosi from the team, led the teachers to understand that they can use materials in nature and all around them to creatively teach the students. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

With garden seeds donated by Hope Seeds and brought to Haiti by the team we were able to start a new garden on the school grounds. Tools were purchased by the team and a local agronomist taught classes to several students who then planted the seeds and will continue to maintain the garden. We pray for a bountiful harvest and that the garden will provide teaching opportunities and provide food for the students.

Praises

• PCMP school has restarted classes after many months of uncertainty

• New believers in the church including, Boss Ducange a former witch doctor

• 97% completion of the kindergarten building.

• Teacher training that enhances the children's education

• Planting of the garden that will provide educational opportunities and food for the school children

• The support and work of the Creekside Haiti Missions Team completing many projects and impacting many lives through their service and ministry alongside PCMP

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for Haiti. We pray for Gods power and intervention to restore stability,raise Godly leaders, stop the senseless gang activity, restore order and a sense of normalcy in the country

• Please pray for student sponsors. We are praying for 100 students to be sponsored for $100 per year or $10 per month. Would you consider sponsoring a child's education that will enable them to receive a Christian Education that will have a lasting impact on their lives.

• Please pray for the ministry of PCMP. The challenges are many, Godly wisdom and direction is needed by the administration of PCMP as we seek to minister to the children and people of Fontaine

• Please pray for the school to be able to continue to keep its doors open and for the school year to continue uninterrupted

• Please pray for qualified teachers and that PCMP will be able to provide competitive wages to the teachers

We are grateful for your continued prayer and financial support of PCMP!

Please click on any of the options below to make a special donation to PCMP or to sponsor a child's education for one year. Just add a comment on the donation form that you would like your donation to sponsor a child's education and we will send you a picture of your sponsored child!

Direct Link to Donor Form:
https://www.continuetogive.com/Donate_to_PCMP/donation_prompt

Text to Give Option:
Text the word "PCMP" to: 715-803-4772

Mail a check:
PCMP
9212 Timberwood Dr.
Johnston, Iowa 50131

Thank you again for your faithful support of PCMP!
God Bless,
Jude